Jaipur - Solo Backpacking Trip. Days 1 & 2.

January is the month of fog. The fog delayed my train by a few hours and I chugged into Jaipur in the afternoon. Half the day was already wasted and I had to salvage the remainder. I wandered off to the Pink city after freshening up and I had absolutely no idea what to do next. On my way I decided to book a 'Jaipur by Night' tour of RTDC. That was to happen at 630. I still had to have lunch. So on I went to the Hawa Mahal or the Palace of Winds as the foreigner calls it. Was it a cliche to begin my trip with the mandatory clicking from the opposite footpath of the Hawa Mahal? Maybe. Did I have another option? Not really. One thing I realised over my two days in Jaipur (or for that matter the entire Rajasthan, with the benefit of hindsight of course) is that the state is really a desert. When it comes to good food, there is a severe paucity. Finding a decent place to eat was a task. Add to that all the 'pavitra shakahari bhojanalayas (Sacred Veg. Restaurants)' around the city screaming at you how "'a'pavitra" you are!

By the end of the day I had figured out the bus system. As I rushed back to the RTDC tour, I gulped down some hot, steaming Gajar Halwa. I had always wanted to eat this street side, on a cold winter day. Delhi is where I had visualised myself do it, but then destiny had it written for Jaipur.

RTDC was in a mood for cutting costs, of course at our expense. So they decided to squeeze in 9 of us and a driver into a Qualis. After the initial grumbling, we got on talking terms. The driver took us through the well it city and showed us the architectural wonders, explaining as they came. I feel this trip is a must do because seeing the City at night otherwise without your own vehicle is costly, if not impossible. The best part of the trip was Amer. The majestic fort, lit in all its splendour. Sadly, the fort vanished in thin air as we were getting down to click.After 10 minutes of uncertain anxiety, generators were switched on, but the fort was only half lit. The power failure couldn't have been timed better! Our final stop, after a very long time spent at a phony 'government approved' handicraft shop, was the fort of Nahargarh or the Tiger Fort. A couple with us in the car, who was visiting from Nepal ended up buying a 'Ruby' pendant for Rs.8,000. I still doubt its genuineness. Apparently, the fort in its heydays was in the middle of a forest full of tigers. Hope their spirits rest in peace, since most were butchered in paltry hunting games! The fort offered a surreal image of the city, the lights blazing to give an image of a city on fire. RTDC arranges a simple, vegetarian meal at the cafe on the fort which after the really long drive up the fort is a god sent gift.

That ended the day's travelling for me. Zostel was like heaven for my tired body. I am itching to sing paeans to Zostel but I'll put that as a footnote at the end of this post.

I decided to check out the old city again. The old city of the Pink city is a walled area, with numerous gates to enter and exit. The main one seems to be the Ajmeri gate. There are numerous markets which sell all that you would want. From footwear, to clothes to ghee to books and to jewellery. It's a treat to just roam around the area. I went to the City palace to see it from within. You can safely not take the camera ticket as more than 75% of the place is out of bound for photography. So it's money down the drain. They have guided tours and neat, numbered tour stops which I found impressive. It's not a huge palace so you could get done quickly. In the vicinity is the Jantar Mantar or the astronomical observatory. I skipped it this time as this was actually my second visit to Jaipur. Finding food was again an issue. I went into this fancy place called Lakshmi Mishtan Bhandar or LMB as its called. They were charging Rs.450 plus taxes for a Thali! I had to do an about turn as my conscience would not allow me to pay for something so overpriced. I get better thalis and cheaper rates in Mumbai!

On my list next was the gigantic fort of Amer. It's around 8-10kms away from the city. There are regular an frequent AC as well as Non-AC buses to take you to and fro in around Rs.10-15 only. So you could reconsider spending on that pricey Rickshaw. The fort is set atop a hill and has a winding cobbled pathway all the way to the top. A long wall runs along the periphery of the hills. The fort seems to have been very well protected. One can simply get lost in the numerous pathways, hidden rooms, narrow staircases which wind their way through the Fort. Seeing the fort against the setting sun is a sight! Have managed to capture a few photos of this silhouette. There are also a few actual 'Government shops' that sell handicrafts. I would strongly recommend that you buy souvenirs here. They are the most reasonably priced. I bought a pair of Blue Pottery Mugs for Rs.270 whereas in the city the same were being quoted from Rs. 650 to Rs. 1100. 

The Jal Mahal or the Water Palace lies on the Amer road and I hopped out of the bus to take a stroll and capture in some gaiety. A quick snack of deep-fried papads was welcome.

Now all that was left on my itinerary was some shopping, window or otherwise. The streets of the old city were bustling with activity. The markets were lit and colours were strewn all over. The winter chill was noticeable. One thing I noticed was the number of shops selling kites for the Hindu festival of Makar Sankrant. I went around looking for a pair of Mojdis (traditional shoes). Finally bought a pair at Rs.250.
All this walking had made me hungry but again since there wasn't a good restaurant in sight I ended up picking up burgers from McDonalds. This was to be, as I later found out, my only non-vegetarian meal on the entire trip. I headed back to the hostel. I had an early morning train to catch to Bharatpur.

Amer at night

One of the many staircases in Amer

Papad near Jal Mahal

Bangles near Jal Mahal

City Palace

One of the many gates of the Pink City

Jaipur as seen from Fort Nahargarh

Amer Fort

Jal Mahal

Albert Museum

Hawa Mahal

Fort Amer - skyline

The wall around Amer - skyline

P.S. I had made bookings at  Zostel , a recently set up backpacker's hostel. Yes it's a bit off the main city area, but it's pretty much well connected by buses/autos. And it's a lovely hostel. Clean and freshly painted with bunkers beds. 24 hours free Wifi and running hot water. Free electricity. They even let you cook your own meals in their kitchen. Run by a group of friends, it's a very chilled out and cosy place. Aniruddh, one of the partners running Zostel, was very kind enough to help me around. Met a few fellow travellers. Shared experiences and tips. Was fun all in all.